Advanced Data Backup School

SearchStorage.com's first backup school was focused on providing a library of content for brand new backup architects. Backup School had all of the fundamental nuts and bolts any storage manager would need to get a backup shop up and running. Now, with Advanced Backup School, it's time to take backup to the next level. Author and VP of Data Protection Services, GlassHouse Technologies W. Curtis Preston will cover topics such as multi-streaming, interleaving, and multiplexing, and how most environments misuse them, when and how to use disk with your backup system, how to properly size your backup server, tape library, etc., the top ten ways storage folks misconfigure backup systems and when to use LAN-based, LAN-free, and server-free backups -- as well as other advanced backup techniques.

Curtis will deliver our Advanced Backup School in six concise, informative, vendor-neutral webcasts that aim to give the advanced, higher level architect the tools they need to build out the most efficient backup system.

Welcome to Advanced Backup School...

Many SANs are built in order to simplify backup -- yet often fail for lack of good design, processes and procedures. There are several common mistakes that people make when building a backup system. Avoiding these mistakes and taking proper action can create a backup system that is reliable and restorable. In lesson one of Advanced Backup School, W. Curtis Preston starts to deconstruct the common backup system and points out the mistakes that may be hampering your backup operations. This lesson will help you understand if your systems have too much or too little power and why you MUST consider multiplexing and multi-streaming to build efficient systems.

You learned some of the common configuration mistakes in lesson one of Advanced Backup School -- but that's not all that can go wrong. W. Curtis Preston is back to expose more common errors backup. In lesson two, Curtis covers why too many full backups is a bad thing and why standardizing is a good thing. Also here -- why you can't afford NOT to use disk-based backup.

Because of its performance benefits, backing up to disk before tape is making a huge impact on the way backups are done. With the advent of low-cost ATA-based RAID, organizations can improve backup and recovery performance -- and do it more cost effectively. In lesson three of SearchStorage.com's Advanced Backup School, W. Curtis Preston explains what options you have in creating a disk-based system and the steps you need to take before implementing it.

Would you like to see this webcast series in person? Join W. Curtis Preston when Advanced Backup School Hits the Road -- coming to a city near you. This FREE one day seminar can help you formulate a backup plan for any size shop. You'll come away with strategies and tools that you can begin using in your storage strategy immediately.

Throwing more resources at a backup problem might not make the issues go away – but just make them bigger. In lesson four of Advanced Backup School, W. Curtis Preston gives you the formula for correctly sizing your backup systems. He'll give you specific metrics to size servers, databases and tape and disk libraries. Curtis also lets you know how big is too big for remote backups.

SAN and NAS are two distinct networked storage options. Depending on which you are running in your shop -- you know they have distinct backup challenges. In lesson five of Advanced Backup School, W. Curtis Preston describes how to deal with the unique challenges of each and how to mange backups if you have SAN and NAS on the same floor. This lesson will also cover the intricacies of LAN-free, client-free and server-free backups along with NDMP configurations.

The traditional methods of backing up can only take your shop so far. Disk and tape have limitations that some of the products just starting to come onto the market will help alleviate. In lesson six of SearchStorage.com's Advanced Backup School, W. Curtis Preston goes beyond the limits of today's traditional backup techniques to expose you some of the burgeoning backup technologies.

W. Curtis Preston is the Vice President of Data Protection Services at GlassHouse Technologies. He authored Using SANs and NAS and Unix Backup and Recovery, the seminal O'Reilly book on backup. He has been designing storage systems for more than 10 years and has designed systems for environments ranging from backup systems for small businesses to enterprise storage systems for Fortune 100 companies. His passion for backup and recovery began with managing the data growth of a 24x7, mission-critical environment. Since that time, Preston has been able to help many companies design resilient storage systems, and his client list includes many Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies.Copyright 2005TechTarget